Where to run a power wire for my 04?
 

Well? I'm trying to run my power wire for my amp and I can't seem to find a good place to run it. Other than drilling a hole, is there another decent place to run it?

No drilling bro. There is already a hole in the firewall that routes a bunch of cables behind the steering wheel. From there just take off the maxima step guards and then under the rear seats into the trunk.

I looked in that location but could only find a steel plate where the steering shaft passes through. I'll double check though, maybe I just missed it. Thanks!

What gauge wire are you running? Its usually not a good idea to run a large diameter power wire around other wires for interference sakes(there is a lot of juice running through the wire). It might not be easiest but drill a hole on the same side of the car as your battery and then it will be simple to run the power wire down the side of your car. Also when your drilling its easiest to use a socket to hold the drill bit in place where you want the hole, if you don't you will surely scratch up your firewall. Drill a larger hole than you need in case you want to run power wires for another component in the future. On my 4th gen there is a pattern on the firewall in the engine bay that translates to the same pattern on the inside of the car up under near the steering wheel, that way you know where to drill the hole and where its coming out. Make sure to put a rubber grommet in the hole you drilled so the jagged edges don't cut your expensive power wire. Then route the wire behind the kick plate on the floor, under the step guards and behind the seat belt pillar and continue back. Its too difficult to type every step of the way but once under the front step guard, behind seat belt pillar and under the rear step guard its simply under the back seat and through to the trunk through a suitable space. Also, insure that you don't run the RCA's down the same side of the car as your running the power wire. Interference once again. The turn on lead doesn't much matter because its low voltage. I ground my amp on one of the screws for the rear strut mount thats in the trunk( make sure to grind all of the paint off to insure good contact). For a clean install tip, if you mount the amp on the back of your box, you can hide all of the wiring behind the plastic stuff that lines the trunk. That way you cant see any wires and can see if your protect light comes on from the drivers seat by looking back through that little window. Let me know if you have any more questions. I install car audio components and enjoy helping others install nice systems in their own cars.

Man you dont have to drill any holes , take off your left fender liner and the wheel of course . There will be a larger group of wires running through the firewall cut a small hole and run the wire through there . Make sure you zipe tie the power wire nice and neat .

Why is drilling a hole such a no-no to some people and such hard work? Drilling a hole enables you to run other power wire and the wiring for other components such as gauges, fog lights and other things. I guess everybody has there own ways of doing things

drilling holes always makes the job easier! especially when it comes to wiring.

My 4th had a hole already so I just ran it straight down the side of the battery under the door and to the trunk. I will be moving the system to my 6th so this post helps.

Unless you are adding alot more equipment than a system to the car i dont see a need to drill either. Even if you have a huge system you just need one really good low gauge power wire to run through the firewall. My 2c

I have an 08 which is pretty much the same car. I contemplated on drilling a hole and then I realized if I took the driver front tire off and remove the inner wheel fender (splash guards) I'd be able to access a half a dollar sized hole where the engine bay harness comes into the vehicle. I ran 4 gauge wire and had just enough space to fit it into this hole. Afterwards the routing of the rest of the wire from there into the trunk took about half hour. Remember with anything automotive, and most other things in life, you can measure more then once, you cut ONLY once.. If you have factory BOSE set up I can tell you exactly which wires to run your remote wiring from. Your probably also going to need a "Line out converter"

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